Qatar – in a lunatic neighborhood! (Updated)

by Austin Michael Bodetti. He is a student in the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program at Boston College. He focuses on the relationship between Islam and conflict in Syria and Sudan.

In the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, the Emirates, and Kuwait rarely stray from Saudi Arabia’s sphere of influence. Qatar, however, has long pursued its own foreign policy in a region dominated by Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, angering its powerful neighbor on the Arabian Peninsula.

On June 4, Bahrain, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and their ally Egypt severed relations with Qatar over its support for Islamists, namely politicians and militants affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Emirates even forced its three airlines — Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Flydubai — to cut their routes to Doha; and Saudi Arabia has not only banned Qatari airplanes from landing on its territory but also closed its border with Qatar. Qatari shoppers worry that their country, which imports most of its food, could face a crippling shortage because of the Saudi-led blockade.

A Qatari jet fighter takes off for a mission over Libya in March, 2011. Qatar contributed with six Mirage 2000-5EDA fighter jets and two C-17 strategic transport aircraft to NATO-led no-fly zone enforcement efforts in Libya. At later stages in the operation, Qatari Special Forces had been assisting in operations, including the training of the Tripoli Brigade and rebel forces in Benghazi and the Nafusa mountains. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP / Getty Images).

The biggest disagreement between Qatar and Saudi Arabia stems from their opposing opinions of the Muslim Brotherhood, which the former views as an ideological proxy, the latter as an ideological threat. Egypt, whose current dictatorship overthrew the government of a Qatari-backed Muslim Brotherhood affiliate in a 2013 coup d’état, has rejected Qatar for similar reasons. A rogue Libyan government, aligned with Egypt, and the Yemeni government, dependent on Saudi support, have done the same. Sudan, a country long maligned by the international community, has gone as far as offering to mediate between the Qataris and the Saudis even though Qatar still helps Sudan resolve its own political dilemmas. Now, the Arab world faces one of the biggest threats to its unity.

Little should separate Qatar from the other countries in the GCC. All of them are Arab monarchies, and all except Oman have Sunni governments. However, Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Arab world’s largest country, has chosen to assert its dominance over its smaller neighbor. Though the Qataris possess significant resources, theirs barely compare to the Saudis’. In addition to petroleum, Saudi Arabia can claim leadership of the Muslim world because it controls Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest cities. Qatar, however, just has money, oil, and the results of a perhaps-too-flexible foreign policy. Nevertheless, the two countries would prove more powerful together than apart.

Saudi Arabia has divided the Arab and Muslim worlds and weakened its leadership as Iran, its archfoe, entrenches itself in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Qatar, which could have proved a critical supporter in Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iranian maneuvers, may become a decisive player in Iran’s sphere of influence.

Qatar houses the largest US military base in the Middle East: The US Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, provides command and control of air power throughout Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and 17 other nations.

Update on 09.07.2017 – Turkey’s relation with QatarLast Wednesday, Turkey brought forward troop deployment to Qatar and pledged to provide crucial food and water supplies. The two countries shared similar positions on the Egyptian Crisis and the Syrian Civil War, jointly contributed to the formation of the Syrian opposition’s civilian wing, the Syrian National Council and its military wing, the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The result was Turkey and Qatar being held responsible for the political costs of the bankrupt policy in Syria.

If you are a small state like Qatar you have an interest in hosting several allies on your territory because it provides you with an indirect security guarantee from your ally. Moreover, it increases the costs for the aggressor of any potential attack. — Jean-Marc Rickli, a professor at King’s College London teaching at Qatar National Defence College cited in Tom Finn, “Turkey to set up Qatar military base to face ‘common enemies’“, Reuters, 16.12.2015.

Turkey has previously signed military agreements with a number of Asian and African countries for cooperation in military training and the defense industry. However, none of those countries or Turkey requested an article enabling the deployment of the Turkish Armed Forces to be included in those agreements. This new aspect of the military accord between Turkey and Qatar therefore raised questions. Osman Korutürk, a parliamentarian for the Republican Peoples Party speculated if the purpose of the deployment is to give military training to the Syrian opposition forces in Qatar.